The Art of Shadow
by JsaurusRex
Summary: Story that explains the events leading up to what happens in the worlds after Dragonspyre. It all begins when Morganthe adopts an orphaned boy after capturing a city. Then the Shadow begins to get a little out of hand. Some of this is based purely on rumor, some of this is completely made up. Enjoy it for what it is.
1. Prologue

**Seven Years Ago**

Morganthe strolled through the quiet city in the world of the Broken Shores. She and her Umbra Legion had finally taken control of the last great stronghold in the world, and the capital city was theirs. The city had been almost completely abandoned in the conquest, but that was a minor detail. She could now unlock the Shadow Magic stored in this world.

"Guards," she said, generating a response from her minions, "make sure nobody enters through these doors once I close them. Understood?" The clattering and clacking from the Goliaths must have meant a positive response. Who in their right mind bothered to learn Goliath anymore?

She strolled into the Servasium in the Palace as if she owned the place. Well, technically, she did now. All around her, she could feel the immense knowledge that vibrated from the books in the Servasium, where the Narolytes, high scholars of magic, stored their learning.

 _This is where I can gain NEW knowledge_ , she thought.

A sudden noise snapped her out of her world. Morganthe's staff flared with a light. "Who's there?!" She demanded of the darkness. The only response was a small sniffle. Like someone hadn't blown their nose.

Morganthe walked towards the sound. The Servasium acted almost as a concert hall, amplifying the sound. Strolling through the darkness, her pet spiders at her side, she soon found the source of the noise and picked it up. For the first time in a years, she felt a connection with the thing she now held in her hands, and she couldn't believe she was about to take it back to Khrysalis with her.

The source of the noise, had been a crying three year old boy with brown hair and blue eyes.


	2. Freedom

**Present Day**

Focusing my mind, I could feel the energy of EVERYTHING around me. The pulsating vibrations from the walls. The heat generated by the Goliaths in the Palace. Hell, I could even hear my own mother's heart beat. Balance magic had always been my specialty from a young age. And to think it all started when a spoon I carelessly tossed across the room at age 4 just...bent.

At least that's what I'm told.

"Jordan, focus harder. The energy is all around you. Take it and amplify it!"

I opened one eye and looked at my mother, Morganthe. I closed my eye again and rolled them. All she cared about was that I maximize my powers to the fullest point of potential. I swear that woman was the most annoying person in the world. Sometimes, it made me wish I had a brother or sister who could help cushion the impact of her pushing.

Still, it was nice knowing that someone pushed me harder and harder every day. Every day, for the past 5 years, in fact.

The energy soon reached its highest point, and drawing on both Balance and Shadow, I unleashed the attack I had been charging inside my body. An explosion of light and shadow burst forth from my body, hitting the walls of the training arena and causing the building to shake furiously. I got better every day, but it still wasn't good enough.

"That was impressive," mom said, bringing me a bottle of water, "but you still have farther still to go."

"Mom, I'm tired of doing nothing but training," I said, " I want to go see the world. I want to go do stuff. Down here," I said, gesturing around me at the dusty arena full of cobwebs and...well, dust. "Down here, there's only the same drill, over and over again."

"Doing the same drill is good for you," mom said. "It will keep your mind sharp and exercised." Mom walked down and pulled me up onto the balcony. "Jordan. My dear boy. My son. There is still much I want you to learn. I agree, you have spent most of your life training down here since we discovered your apt for Balance magic. But, I don't feel like it's time for you to-"

"Leave? Mom, I'm gonna grow up someday. I'm almost 11. I want to see the world. I want to know what's out there. Down here, I feel like I'm suffocating."

Morganthe looked at me, and if looks could kill, I'd have turned to stone from a Medusa spell. You're not ready. That's what the look said. But what she said was entirely different.

"Fine. You want to go see the world. Come with me."

Heading back to the ground level of the Shadow Palace, mom took me to her room. There, she opened a box that held several glistening Spiral Keys. She stood, contemplating, then selected 2 and handed them to me. "The one on the left is for here, in Khrysalis. It will bring you right back here to the Shadow Palace." I eyed the other key, which looked almost as if a lotus blossom had been carved out of the gold.

"Where does this one go?" I asked.

"That, I will leave for you to discover. Go on, go use it."

Exciting, I raced down the stairs and out to the courtyard, where the Spiral Door was located. I was finally going to get to see the outside world. I was so excited, I dropped the key twice before I finally put it in and gave it 3 form turns, causing the light in the door to spark to life. I opened the door...

...and was greeted with the smell of jade tea and...was that bamboo I smelled?


	3. Mooshu

**Author Note: I didn't like the first person perspective from the first chapter. I felt it really subtracted from the overall value of the tale, so I'm changing it to a third person PoV.**

The world smelled like tea. But it was so beautiful. What was this mysterious place. Jordan walked out of the Spiral Door and, unbeknownst to him, had entered the beautiful world of Mooshu. The smell aside, it was beautiful. Cicadas chirped in the early morning air, and the few settled softly on the ground.

Jordan proceeded out of the Spiral Chamber. Before him stood a huge palace. It reminded him of the Shadow Palace back at home, only it wasn't made out of obsidian. He walked around. Without anyone outside at this early hour, it was relatively easy for Jordan to waltz about and explore the Jade Palace.

After about 2 hours of wandering around and looking at the same things, he decided to branch out and explore more. His mother had given him a backpack to hold stuff in while he adventured, but he had used it for a different purpose. He took the pack off and opened it up.

"Come on out, boy."

A small green reptile with fins, flippers, and a yellow belly hopped out of the bag. It was a Sea Dragon from the world of Celestia. One of the Shadow lieutenants had brought it back for him from a world tour, and while Morganthe hadn't approved, Jordan had quickly bonded and synced with the dragon, who Jordan called "Stevie".

"Stevie, we did it, we got out of the Palace. Finally!"

 _I hope you know how bad AND how good this could end_ , Stevie said. Telepathy was one of the dragon's abilities that he had learned over time. Synchronization with Jordan's magic made Jordan the only one able to hear Stevie's telepathic communication.

Of course, that was just one of the minor issues that occurred when Stevie tried to communicate with humans other than Jordan.

"Stevie, I know you mean well, but this is one of those times where it might be better for you to just accept what happens and let it go," Jordan said.

 _All I'm saying is that you need to be...oooh, butterfly,_ Stevie muttered as the bright orange insect flew gently past the small cat size dragon.

"Stevie...Stevie! Stevie come back here!" Jordan shouted as he ran off after his friend.

* * *

After an hour or so of running, Jordan finally found Stevie inside of a huge temple.

"Stevie, what were you thinking running off like that? You could have gotten lost," Jordan said, patting his friend's head.

 _Maybe I was trying to, did THAT ever occur to you?_ Stevie retorted.

"Now now. Come on, we should probably be getting home. Mom must be worried sick. That and she doesn't know I brought you with me," Jordan said.

 _Well that does it. Where in this world ARE we, anyway?_? Stevie asked.

Just then the pair heard a loud rumbling, and the ground started to shake. And out of nowhere, came a large elephant with a mighty sword.


	4. Plague Oni

**Sorry for the prolonged absence, but I was finishing up my senior year of high school. Now that I've graduated, updates should be MUCH more frequent.**

 **On with the story...**

* * *

"Stevie, look out!"

The elephant charged at them, swinging his sword towards Stevie which would have chopped the little Dragon in half had Jordan not told him to move. The mark left on the stones from the sword the elephant wielded was huge. It was certainly big enough to chop a man in 2. Then the elephant spoke.

"I am the Plague Oni, current occupant of this Shiritaki Temple. Who cares to enter uninvited and disturb me?!"

"We sincerely apologize, sir," Jordan quickly replied," We were getting ready to leave." He picked up Stevie and headed for the door.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jordan saw a flash of tan light, and the doors to the temple closed and shut securely, preventing their means of escape. _He uses Balance Magic,_ Jordan thought.

"None leave here unless I allow it!" The Oni shouted in a booming voice. "Since you have unjustly intruded and invaded my home, you must die now!"

The Oni swung his sword downward and would have cleaved our hero in two, had he not produced his Umbra Blade and blocked the attack. Drawing on the power of Balance, Jordan channeled it through the blade, and sent the elephantine demon flying backwards.

"I was perfectly content to leave here without any trouble," Jordan said, setting Stevie down. "However. If it's a duel you want, it's a duel you'll have," he replied, getting into a battle stance.

The Oni charged at him again, with balance energies swirling around the sword in he wielded. Sand began to coalesce around the blade, swirling faster and faster. A sandstorm was something Jordan knew how to deal with.

Jordan closed his eyes and touched the realm of Shadow.

 _Sentinel,_ he called mentally, hearing the word echo throughout his head. A black spiral formed and was drawn in front of his body, calling the being forward. Shadow engulfed him, and he felt his appearance wax and wane.

The Plauge Oni unleashed the sandstorm he had been building. He thought for sure that since Jordan was caught in the middle of it, he would have surely have been incinerated by the swirling sands.

"Better luck next time kid," he said, and began to walk away.

"You are the one who needs more luck."

The Oni wheeled. Where he had once seen a big, there was no longer.

Instead, a bulky, unstable creature of Shadow stood in the child's place.


End file.
